Maple-carrot soup

Baby carrots make for a quick-cooking base in this maple-syrup-and-Dijon-spiked starter

By Monda Rosenberg and Victoria Walsh

Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 30 minutes
Makes 8 Cups (2 L)

Ingredients:

900 mL carton chicken broth
2-lb (1-kg) bag baby carrots
2 tbsp (30 mL) maple syrup
1 tbsp (15 mL) Dijon mustard, preferably grainy
2 tsp (10 mL) dried thyme leaves
1 cup (250 mL) sour cream, preferably light

Nutrients per cup (250 mL)

4 g protein
2 g fat
16 g carbohydrates
3 g fibre
93 calories

Directions:

1. Place broth, carrots, maple syrup, Dijon and thyme in a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium. Cover and gently boil, stirring occasionally, until very tender, about 30 min.

2. Ladle half into a food processor, fitted with a metal blade. Purée until as smooth as you like. Pour into a large bowl. Then purée remaining soup. Return both batches to pot. Soup is quite thick and you may need to add up to 1 cup (250 mL) water or chicken broth. Reheat until hot.

3. When hot, stir in half the sour cream. Taste and add salt, if needed. Ladle soup into bowls, then dollop each with about 1 tbsp (15 mL) of remaining sour cream. If making ahead, prepare steps 1 and 2. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months. When ready to serve, reheat and continue with step 3.

First published in Chatelaine.com's December 2009 issue